The Time usually reserved for Lunch
by Monker
Summary: This is just a random little scene that takes place between Clarisse and Joseph. It's not very long, but it's still pretty cute. It WAS a oneshot, but then I recieved some review asking me to continue it...so now it's a twoshot. Review if you like!
1. Joseph to the rescue

"Imagine this if you can..." Joseph began, walking swiftly into the Royal office of Her Majesty, Queen Clarisse Ranaldi.

Clarisse looked up from what she was writing once she noticed this rather unexpected, but not unwanted interruption from her Head of Security and friend.

Joseph went on, not missing a beat, "The gentlemen of my security team—rather forcefully—convinced me to take, what they referred to as, a long overdue break. So, seeing how I had already had my lunch for the day, I decided that the time I usually reserved for my lunch break might today be of better use as merely a time for a nice walk around the grounds to stretch my legs. So, as I am walking around the grounds, enjoying the serenity, I happen to run into Maxwell...the chief gardener,"

"Yes, I know who Maxwell is," Clarisse said, slightly defensive that Joseph would think that she did not even know her own gardener by name. Clarisse then, realizing that this might be a long story, set down her pen and proceeded to remove her glasses.

"Of course, forgive me...anyway, Maxwell and I soon begin talking about this and that—the warm weather we've been having, and some trouble he's been having with the gardening soil over by the east wing—nothing really important, until he asked me, 'So what's so important that it's stopped Her Majesty from coming out for her daily walks recently?' I didn't know what he meant. So I asked him, 'Why? Have you not seen her today?' he said, 'I haven't seen her since Sunday afternoon!'"

Clarisse rolled her eyes, now understanding where this story was headed.

Her reaction didn't faze him, and Joseph just continued with his story, "Imagine my surprise! So I glanced at my watch, and my suspicions were correct...it was five o'clock on _Friday_ afternoon! So, given the information I recently received from a certain Mr. Maxwell, I understand that you have been wasting almost the entire week away cooped up inside, staring at words on a page or talking into a telephone receiver."

Clarisse held up her index finger to the man who was now seated in one of the two conference chairs that faced her desk. "I resent the word 'wasting'. Each and every thing that has been done in here during the past week could be easily classified as _highly_ productive!" Clarisse defended herself.

"I am not addressing your productivity, Your Majesty. I am addressing the unhealthy state of mind in which you are placing yourself with your bad habits," Joseph replied.

"'Unhealthy state of mind'?" Clarisse repeated.

But now it was Joseph's turn to hold up a finger, he waved it slightly from side to side and closed his eyes. "Therefore, having concluded my story," Joseph rose from his chair and walked over to Clarisse's side of the desk. "I simply must _insist _that you accompany me on the remainder of my walk outside." As he finished, Joseph held out his hand and offered it to the woman who was still sitting at the desk.

Clarisse gave a defeated sigh and glanced at the window. It was long since noon and the sun was slipping further and further away from the center of the sky, towards its place beyond the horizon. But if they hurried, she and Joseph would still have a good amount of daylight for a stroll around the grounds.

"Fine!" she said finally, "Just give me a moment to finish up."

So Joseph waited exactly where he was...he didn't even put down his hand. She was taking too long by his standards. He waited for her to sign three other papers before saying, "I hope you don't intend to keep me standing like this for _too_ much longer. Remember, I am an old man, and I could fall over dead at any moment."

Upon hearing that, Clarisse let out a laugh and set down her pen. She turned her chair around and placed her hand in his. He grinned at her and pulled her from the chair. Then he brought her hand to his lips for a quick kiss and he began to lead her out the door.

"Oh tush," she said, "You're not _that _old...you are old...but you're not _that _old."

Joseph's laugh could be heard throughout the hallway as the door to the Royal Office closed behind them with a click.

THE END (of chapter one)

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Author's Note: I know it is really short, but I sat down at the computer last night and thought "I want to write a oneshot." So this is the random scene that came to me while I was writing. At first I thought that it could easily fit into a slightly larger story...but then I decided that I liked it how it was (no matter how short). So I hope that you enjoyed it, and you find it worth a review (hehe).

I might end up continuing it a little later on, so that we can see what would happen during their walk, but that's only if there are enough readers who think that it's a good idea. So if you want it to continue then leave me a review and tell me so. Also, if you have anything specific that you would like to see happen, be sure to mention that as well.

Thanks for reading!

--Monker


	2. but the maze is more private

Ok, enough of you guys asked for another chapter, so I decided to write this. It, like the chapter before it, is rather short...but I hope that you enjoy it anyway. Here it is! It pick up right where the other one left off.

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When the doormen went to open the door for Clarisse and Joseph, Joseph was quick to dismiss them and say that he would get it. The two young men just nodded and stepped aside. Once the couple had passed through the doors the two doormen returned to their posts.

"Wasn't that Her Majesty?" Jake asked.

"Yeah" said Ralph.

Jake looked through the window in the door behind them. He watched as Her Majesty and her companion descended the stairs and headed for the garden. "And who's that with her?" Jake asked.

"It's Joe, or Mr. Romero to you. He's the Head of Security here. And _you_ had better stop spying on them if you want to keep your job" said Ralph as he kept his eyes strait ahead.

Jake had thought the man with Her Majesty looked like the Head Honcho of the security field, but Jake had only been at the Palace for a total of five days, and had only met Mr. Romero once. But Jake still didn't understand why Mr. Romero was watching Her Majesty on her walk; couldn't he have found someone else to do it?

"How come he didn't just send one of the other guys from the team to watch her? Doesn't he have things he needs to be doing?" Then something happened that just confused Jake even more, Ralph started laughing...really hard, as though Jake had just quoted a hilarious line from a movie or something. "What?" Jake asked, wondering what great joke he had missed.

"You are definitely new here! Did you ever think that maybe Joe is the one watching after Her Majesty all the time because he _wants_ to be the one always watching her? Ya know?"

Jake just stared at Ralph, still confused.

"Do you even _talk _to the maids at all?!"

"Wait, when did the maids come into all this?"

Ralph sighed, "You're thinking too hard on this. I'll save you a brain cell and tell you now, Joe and the Queen are basically an item. Except both are too dense realize it."

Jake's eyebrows jumped up two stories, "Really?" he asked as he turned around again to peer out the window. He saw Mr. Romero and Her Majesty walking side by side. Jake thought about it, then decided...yeah, he could see a relationship there.

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Joseph and Clarisse stepped out into the fresh air. Joseph breathed in and then breathed out happily, "See? This is what you've been missing all week."

Clarisse nodded, "It is beautiful out today" she agreed.

Joseph put his arm out in front of her to point at the ground beside her. "And that's grass. I don't know if your remember that or not, it's been a while since you've last-" His sentence was interrupted by Clarisse's elbow jabbing into his ribs. He laughed as she retracted her elbow and glared at him out the corner of her eye.

"Ha ha" she said blandly, "very funny."

Joe went on, "And what you're breathing is called fresh air, not that stuffy stuff you're used to in that office."

Clarisse bore an amused smile, "'stuffy stuff'?" she repeated.

Joseph laughed then his face grew serious, "yes, 'stuffy stuff'" he said, "Have you a problem with that, madam?"

"Not at all," Clarisse's smile stayed the same, "I just wanted to make sure that I heard you right."

They went on and Clarisse had a hard time muffling her giggles. Finally Joseph said simply, "Stop laughing at me."

Clarisse cracked up, "I'm not laughing at you!" ...she had a weak case.

"Yeah," Joe nodded his head, unconvinced "whatever you say."

They came to a place where the path split into two separate directions. One path led towards the maze garden, an area of tall shrubs that formed a simple maze. Clarisse and Joseph both had walked through the maze so many times before that it wasn't really much of a maze anymore. In fact, practically anyone who had worked at the Palace for a good length of time could get through the maze without a problem. In the center of the maze was a beautiful fountain area that had several stone benches on which a maze traveler could sit and relax. There were also a few flowers in that area too. But the second pathway led to to rose garden, a beautiful array of all sorts of roses. Practically every type of rose from hybrid teas to miniature roses could be found in that garden. That said, it was one of Clarisse's favorite places on the Palace's property. So Clarisse started towards the right, heading to the rose bushes.

"Where are you going?" Joseph asked.

"To the rose garden..."

"Well, let's go to the maze instead."

Clarisse looked at him, "Why?"

Joseph looked to his left towards the maze, then turned back to face Clarisse. He hiked his shoulders, "I just like it that the bushes are taller, it provides more shade and...privacy."

Clarisse's breath caught a little. Every time Joseph pursued privacy with her, she felt like a knot was growing in her throat and a soft thrill of excitement would spread throughout her body. But she composed herself long enough to say, "Well then, to the maze we'll go."

They entered the maze shortly there after and, as was expected, it was completely deserted. They began their walk through the maze, headed towards the fountain and sitting aria that can be found in the center of the maze. No words were being exchanged. Joseph found the silence eerie, so he chose to break it.

"So umm...Clarisse, what kind of bush is this?" he asked.

Clarisse glanced at the bush and said, "I don't know. I know flowers, but not bushes...not well at least."

"Ahh, I see." Then there was another long silence. A strange sense of awkwardness seemed to be between the two of them. Joseph rolled his eyes, they were two grown adults for Heaven's sake! Why were they behaving like they were teenagers at their first school dance? He had brought her to the maze because he wanted to be alone with her without all the extra pairs of eyes following them the whole way. He, after all, was the Head of Security; he had eyes all over the Palace and its grounds...so accordingly, he knew where all of those eyes could see, and where they couldn't see. The maze happened to be one of the three areas that surveillance was unable to see.

But now that Joseph had her alone, he suddenly froze. He knew what he _wanted _to do, but he didn't seem to have the courage to do it. What if it upset her? Again Joseph rolled his eyes, how could a man totally devoted to keeping things secure be so insecure about himself? Finally, frustrated with his own self confidence problems, Joseph decided to take the plunge. He gave a little huff, then he grabbed her hand and forced her to slow down. He then leaned in and placed a kiss to her cheek, lingering with his face next to hers for a moment after the kiss before pulling away entirely.

She saw a grin spread across his face and the way that he cocked one eyebrow slightly above the other while he turned to continue the walk made her heart skip a beat. She was frozen in one place, not sure what she should do next. And she feared trying to take a step because she felt for sure that her legs would certainly turn to jelly. Never the less, Joseph had already turned the corner into the sitting aria and was therefore out of sight. She had to catch up. She slowly followed and found him standing next to the fountain, watching the water ripples.

He heard her approach behind him. He inwardly sighed with relief. He was afraid that he had scared her off and that she had retreated to the Palace. Thankfully, that was not the case.

"What was that for?" She asked.

He turned to look at her. "What was what for? The kiss?"

She nodded.

He smiled at her, "It was for you."

She was getting frustrated now; she hated it when he played dumb. "You know that isn't what I meant."

He nodded, seeing that he was making her mad, and scratched the back of his neck. "Well...since when exactly did a kiss have to have a reason?"

She had a few answers to that question but she didn't have time to give them, nor would she want to had she been given the chance.

"Anyway," he went on, "I think that maybe those are the wrong questions. There are two _right_ questions, and the first one is...did you like it?..Even a little bit?" He held up his fingers to indicate a small amount.

She blushed and looked away. That was answer enough for him.

He continued, "And the second question would be...May I do it again, or am I already in too much trouble?"

She looked back at him and noticed that he was drawing closer to her. She unconsciously wetted her lips and gulped once. "W-well, I think that we should definitely consider the 'trouble' factor."

"Yeah?" he asked as he continued to close the distance.

"Yes. What is someone saw us?"

This time he didn't say anything. He just glanced around at their surroundings. She did the same.

"Then again," she said, "these bushes are rather tall."

He smirked before closing the distance between their mouths. One of his hands was placed where Clarisse's neck met her shoulder, and the other was hovering over her hip. He was nervous that she might think he was going too fast so he wouldn't even put his hand fully to her hip, he was waiting for her. His wait paid off...she soon reached her arms up to snake around his shoulders, deepening the kiss ever so slightly. Neither was in a rush, so they took things slow, offering little bits of themselves and receiving what the other one offered. When the kiss ended, they both pulled away and just stared at each other for a moment. Clarisse was the first one to speak.

"Well," she said, "If that's my punishment, then maybe I should over work more often."

Joseph chuckled, "No my dear, I don't believe you understand the moral of the story."

"And what _is_ the moral of the story then?" she asked bringing her hand up to play with his beard.

"The moral of the story is, don't work yourself to dust because...well I suspect that it will be less thrilling to kiss dust."

Clarisse threw her head back and gave a melodious laugh. Joseph made a mental note to run an experiment and see if Clarisse's laugh could cause a dead flower to bloom again, because he had faith that it could. It was, to him, the most beautiful sound in the world and he loved hearing it.

Her laughter subsided and she just leaned her forehead in and rested it against his. "Thank you for the walk" she said.

"Thank you for coming with me." Then he kissed her once more and said, "Come on, I should be getting you back. Your father will be furious if I bring you home late after a first date."

She smiled, "My father?"

Joseph tilted his head, "Well, no...But Charlotte will be."

She laughed again, "You're probably right."

THE END (for real this time)

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Hope you enjoyed! Review if you'd like.

--Monker


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